A Little Help From Friends
by ramenreignss
Summary: With feelings growing deeper between Emma and Dean, Nikki Bella makes it her mission to get the two together. She enlists the help of Seth Rollins, and things become increasingly interesting as they try to push their friends into a relationship. [ Sequel to Punishment. Dean/Emma, some Seth/Nikki ]
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** I own absolutely nothing!

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Chapter One – _Victories, Suspicions, and Bonding._

Emma's eyes were glued to the monitor backstage and heart raced rapidly against her chest as she watched the Shield along with Daniel Bryan fight off Kane and Evolution.

It's been a few months since Kane had teamed her up with the Shield in a plot that failed to embarrass the team. There hadn't been anymore join ups between them in the ring once Kane came to the conclusion that his scheme wasn't working. However, much to everyone's surprise Emma, Dean, Seth and Roman remained close and even 'officially' became friends. Sometimes she would even travel with them and have movie nights in their hotel room.

At first, it had been a bit concerning to Emma's friends. This was still the Shield, after all! They prided themselves in being the meanest and most ruthless stable in the WWE, and they didn't invite anyone into their group. It was just them. They were brothers before they were even friends. For them to do such normal and friendly things with the bubbly Australian was definitely perplexing.

But Emma was adamant about their kindness towards her, so her friend's concerns eventually died out.

"Emma," Nikki Bella said from behind the blonde, "you're going to ruin your eyesight if you keep standing so close to the screen like that."

The Bella twins were also standing by the monitor with Emma to watch the match—Brie to watch Daniel while Nikki was mostly there to witness Emma's reactions.

The boys weren't the only ones Emma formed a close bond with over the past months. Since their talk in the locker room, Nikki and Emma became great friends. In fact, the twins had dubbed her their honorary triplet! Though she and Nikki were closer, Emma had a certain bond with Brie. Her calming presence was often helpful to the Australian.

"That's a myth." Emma dismissed not moving away from the screen.

"How's it a myth? That really can't be good for your eyes." Nikki continued even though she knew her friend would merely ignore her to keep her attention on the match.

"Yes!" Emma shouted, jumping up when Dean landed a 'Dirty Deeds' on Batista and pinning him to win the match.

Brie laughed at her friend's excitement. "Relax there, girly. Don't want you hurting yourself."

Emma was making it a habit to ignore the twins, and she clapped joyously as the Shield defeated the corporate jerks. They deserved this win so much after all they've been put through because of the Authority. And that included Daniel Bryan—she was just as proud with how far he's come, too. She was just a little bit more proud of her guys. She's been with them after the beatings, after the unfair losses. She's witnessed the disappointment and anger in their eyes as Evolution and the Authority had screwed them over countless times.

Her friends have come a long way since the beginning and they had obviously taken a big risk turning their backs on their power hungry boss. But they were dealing with it, and handling it better than the normal man would have.

"She's about to go running down to the gorilla to meet her boys." Nikki told her sister, eyes darting up and down as she watched Emma jump in celebration.

"You know it!" Emma exclaimed, finally acknowledging what one of the Bella's said. She didn't waste another moment before running off towards the gorilla position, leaving two very amused twins behind.

She was so carefree as she ran down the hall, almost bumping into a few people on the way. She yelled out some apologies, but didn't stop. A wide grin split across her face as she spotted the three men dressed in black walk through the curtain. Without thought, Emma launched herself and threw her arms around the neck of Dean Ambrose. He immediately wrapped his arms around her waist, lifting her off the ground and holding her close.

"You guys won!" She exclaimed happily, her hug tightening.

Dean chuckled. "Did you doubt that we would, Blondie?" He asked, leaning back a bit to look her in the eyes.

"Not for a second!" Emma told him earnestly, her grin never faltering.

"That'a girl." He replied patting her head and setting her back down on her feet, arms still wrapped around her.

Everyone knew that Dean Ambrose wasn't a touchy feely kind of guy, and there weren't many people in this company who actually _wanted _to touch him. But there was just something about Emma. He's thought it since day one, but she was different than other women to him. It took him a little while to get used to her hugs, but he could safely say that Emma was now one of the very few people he felt comfortable embracing. She just felt so right in his arms.

Like right now, his arms still securely around her waist as they grinned at each other, it just felt… fitting. She fit perfectly in his arms.

And more often than not, that thought scared the crap out of him. Anxiety began tightening at his stomach now, making his smile falter and his eyes dart around as if looking for some sort of rescue.

Luckily, Seth saved him before she could even notice his change in mood.

"Hey, no hugs for us?" The two-toned superstar interrupted with a mocking pout. "We were in the match, too, you know!"

Emma laughed, and she removed her arms from around Dean and he easily let her go to hug Seth. The hugs she shared with the other two members of the Shield were much more brief than the one she shared with Dean. Despite his previous apprehension, he took some pride in that.

Daniel Bryan walked through the curtain then with his belts on his shoulders. He raised an eyebrow at the sight of Emma with the Shield. From an outside view, it looked pretty bizarre to see the exuberant Emma hugging it out with those three men. Though seeing her with them has become a constant for everyone backstage, it was still hard for most of them to wrap their minds around. The Shield were just so intimidating and Emma was just so—well, _Emma_.

Daniel was still having trouble believing that _he_ and the _Shield_ were teaming together now. He wondered if this cheerful blonde had anything to do with their late change in attitude.

"Daniel!" He looked away from the four people, and smiled happily at the sight of his new wife rushing over to him. His arms instantly wrapped around her as she hugged him. "You did so well tonight. I'm so proud of you." Brie told him, kissing his cheek.

"Thank you." He said, turning his face to kiss her on the mouth.

"Ugh, do you guys have to do this all the time in front of everyone? We get it, you're married now!" Nikki walked up to them with a repulsed expression.

Brie glared at her sister. "I'm just congratulating my man. You do the same thing to John when he wins his matches, Nicole."

"Actually she does a lot worse." Daniel teased, laughing at the expression on his sister-in-laws face.

Nikki shoved his shoulder lightly. "Oh my God, Daniel, shut up!" She told him only mildly offended. "John and I aren't even that nasty anymore."

Brie shot her sister a look of disbelief. "You're telling me that you and John aren't having sex twenty-four seven anymore?"

Looking to avoid yet another argument between the twins, Daniel quickly changed the subject. "So, what's going on between Emma and those three?" He said nodding over to the group who were currently at something together.

"They're so in love." Nikki pointed out, earning odd looks from Brie and Daniel.

"What?" They said in unison.

"Emma and the Shield are in love with each other?" Daniel asked looking a little horrified.

"Not _all_ of them." Nikki amended, looking at the two like they were stupidest people on the planet. "Emma and Dean."

That only earned more odd looks and confusion.

"You're trying to say that Emma and Dean—Dean _Ambrose_—are in love with each other?" Daniel asked looking at Nikki like she just grew a second head. It was hard enough to believe Dean was even capable of falling in love, let alone with Emma!

"Well, maybe not in love _yet_. But they totally want each other." Nikki replied with a shrug.

"What makes you think that they want each other?" Brie asked, genuinely curious about her sister's logic.

"There are a few things. They're little things, but they totally count. Like, she's always running to him first and giving him the longest hugs. And he's holding on to her like he's afraid she's going to disappear. And they're always, like, looking at each other and checking each other out. The other day, I caught Dean totally checking out her butt when she practicing her little dance." Nikki explained in an expert tone, like it was her job to notice these things.

"That's… uh, a little scary that you notice all of that, Nikki." Daniel said, put off by her observations.

She rolled her eyes. "I'm just an observant person, Daniel. And they're pretty freaking obvious about it."

"Not really. I mean, _I've_ never noticed any of those things." Brie stated, looking over to the four now.

"You're just not as close as Emma and I are." Nikki replied giving her sister a 'be jealous' look, to which Brie rolled her eyes before closer observing Emma and Dean to see if she could spot what her sister did.

Brie was surprised to see how close Emma was standing next to Dean. Their arms were even touching as they listened to whatever Seth was telling them. Dean's hand twitched at his side, looking as if he wanted to take Emma's hand into his own.

"Hmm. They are standing really close to each other." Brie finally agreed.

"See, I told you!"

"Really?" Daniel asked, skeptically "You guys are going to make these assumptions simply because they're standing close to each other? Maybe she's just more comfortable with him."

The twins tilted their heads and their brows furrowed together in confusion.

"Who would be more, if at all, comfortable with Dean Ambrose?" Brie asked her husband.

Daniel opened his mouth to answer, but immediately shut it when he realized he didn't have one. "Okay, you make a point… it's still poor proof, though."

"Whatever." Nikki said flipping her hair and watching the people in question.

Her eyes narrowed in thought. There were clearly some feelings there. This type of behavior has been going on for months between Emma and Dean. They were mostly subtle, and she doubted either of them even recognized that there were feelings there, but Nikki noticed those little things. She knew from experience that it really is those little things that count before the big bang hits. Nikki had doubts, however. She doubted that either of them would make the first move. She certainly doubted that Dean would even admit to having feelings for anyone. And Emma—well, she probably wouldn't even comprehend that whatever she was feeling was anything deeper than innocent.

This thing would fizzle out.

Unless _she_ did something about it.

"Nicole, stop." Brie's voice brought her out of her thoughts.

"What?" Nikki asked giving her sister a look.

"I can see the wheels turning in your head. Stay out of it." Brie told her sternly.

"I'm not planning anything!" Nikki defended, which wasn't a total lie. She hadn't planned anything—yet. "God, you always make snap assumptions about me."

"I'm your twin. They're not assumptions, it's just what I know about you."

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"So, you guys did really awesome tonight!" Emma told the guys as they walked down towards the Shield's locker room.

"Of course we did!" Seth exclaimed, throwing an arm around her shoulders and pulling her close, putting some distance between her and Dean—much to Dean's displeasure. Though he'd never admit to that.

"Doll, it was a breeze. They've slowed down in their old age." Roman stated proudly. "They needed twelve other men to help them bring us down for just a moment. We're the future. They're the past."

Emma nodded in agreement. But she was still worried for them. Sure, the members of Evolution were older, but they were certainly vicious and volatile. They've proven that countless times. However, her boys have proven over and over again that they could hold their own and 'adapt', as Triple H liked to put it. The Shield didn't take shit from _anyone_. She wished she could have a tenth of their bravery.

"So, you riding with us tonight?" Dean asked as they approached closer to their locker room.

"Yeah, sure. I was going to end up taking a cab or something anyway."

She always said yes, and it was always Dean who asked. She didn't think that meant anything, but she was always glad that _he_ was the one to ask her. And he was always pleased with her answer.

"Alright. We'll meet you at the entrance of the garage. Don't go into the parking lot unless one of us is with you, okay?" Dean told her a bit sternly. He didn't like to think of what kind of creeps would bother a single woman in a dark parking lot.

Roman and Seth silently laughed in the background while Emma simply smiled and nodded her head. The first time they decided to travel together, she had gone into the parking garage without waiting for them. In her defense, she had been in a conversation with a friend while walking there, but Dean had totally freaked out about it and made her promise never to do it again. Thinking back on it now, Emma found it pretty funny.

"I know the drill now, Dean. No worries! I'll wait for you _outside_ of the parking garage."

Dean didn't really think it was so funny. He thought it was a good precaution to take. He thought someone out there would have been proud of the fact that he was taking some responsibility! "Okay, good." He mumbled. "Do you wanna do a movie night?"

Before Emma could answer, Seth butt right in. "I think we should do a Star Wars marathon. Emma's never watched even one of them, can you believe that?" He asked, amazed by the very idea of someone not watching Star Wars. "Do they not have it in Australia or something?"

"Seth… that's the dumbest thing I've ever heard you say." Dean said eyeing his friend with distaste. "And you're supposed to be the smarter one out of the three of us?"

"Shut the hell up, Dean!" Seth seethed glaring daggers.

"Now-now, boys, no need for fighting. You've done enough of that tonight." Emma spoke up, trying to smooth over the little argument while Roman laughed in the background. _So unhelpful!_ She thought resentfully. "Maybe we can do the Star Wars marathon another night, though? I feel like that would be too long, and I'm pooped. We should watch something shorter." She suggested knowing the guys were feeling especially exhausted tonight. They had a pretty big battle with Evolution and Kane tonight.

"Well, fine, but I'm totally getting you to watch all the Star Wars movies sooner or later." Seth insisted as they stopped in front of their locker room door.

Dean rolled his eyes before facing Emma as his teammates entered the room. "See ya in a few, Blondie."

She smiled at him and nodded before turning away to head down to the Diva's locker room.

Emma loved movie nights. Roman always passed out right after the opening credits, Seth always chirped along to fill her in on certain scenes that she didn't understand, and Dean always kept silent but always sat close to her. Sometimes she fell asleep resting her head on his shoulder until he woke her up when the movie was finished. She enjoyed the bonding time they shared. Very few people could say they've bonded with the trio.

In fact, she may be the only one who could say it.

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**Ah, the sequel to Punishment has finally been published! I was amazed by the feedback I got on Punishment and I would just like to thank everyone who had reviewed, faved, and followed. It's very much appreciated and I hope that you enjoy the sequel. I haven't figured out how many chapters it's going to be yet, but it's going to be significantly longer than Punishment.**

**Please, review and let me know what you think! The next chapter should be posted some time next week.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I own absolutely nothing.**

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Chapter Two – _An Unlikely Team and Late Night Calls._

Nikki Bella prided herself in being a rather observant person. She noticed the little things that people tended to ignore, but ended up being really important in the long run. She was no Sherlock Holmes. She claimed to be much hotter.

In her opinion, however, it didn't take a rocket scientist to see how much Dean and Emma wanted each other. Their body language just screamed it, though she was apparently the only one who saw it. Or at least the only one who admitted to seeing it. But she made the assumption that one of the other Shield members had to have noticed the sexual tension between their two friends.

That was exactly why she decided to enlist the help of one of the two to get Emma and Dean together.

Yeah, Brie told her to stay out of it, but she rarely ever listened to her twin. And she did plan on staying out of it, she truly did. But that all changed the other night at the hotel.

Nikki had been heading towards her own room since John was flying off for some promotional stuff at the last minute. She was a bit ticked off about it, because lately she and John have barely spent any time together. While she was steaming and almost stomping down the hall, she stopped short when she witnessed Emma leaving the Shield's hotel room with Dean 'escorting' her out. She was discreetly unseen (she was hiding behind a big plant), and then she saw it. Dean leaned in when they were saying their goodbyes. _He freaking leaned in to kiss her! _She had thought, watching on wide-eyed. At last minute, she assumed he chickened out and backed away.

That's when Nikki _knew_ she had to do something about this. Emma and Dean had to be together! Sure, she wasn't the biggest fan of Dean Ambrose and she was sure Emma could do way better than him, but she didn't want to judge. If that weirdo made Emma happy (and got her all hot and bothered), she was now making it her mission to get those two together.

Now she just needed persuade the help of either Seth Rollins or Roman Reigns.

And as she entered catering she was glad to find Seth sitting on his own eating a sandwich of some sort. On her ride to the arena, she concluded that Rollins would be the better option. She didn't think Reigns would be very helpful in her mission. In fact, she got the feeling he would scold her for it and then tell Emma and Dean everything.

Nikki walked over to an unaware Seth in her Louis Vuitton red bottom heels. Without a word, she slammed her bag down on the table and sat across from the two toned superstar, smiling pleasantly.

Seth jumped at the loud slam and looked up from his cell phone wide eyed. He was surprised to find the one and only Nikki Bella sitting across from him with some creepy smile on her face. The last time he spoke to the twin was all those months ago after the Emma/Drew incident, and that resulted in him getting a door slammed in his face. Before and since then, he and the twin never really spoke to each other.

"Uh," he started off, furrowing his brows at her. What could she possibly want? "I'm pretty sure Emma's in the locker room right about now."

Nikki blinked at him. "Well, if I wanted to talk to Emma then I'd go there."

This only caused more confusion for the Architect of the Shield. "You want to talk to me?"

"Yes."

"About?"

"About getting Emma and Dean together."

Seth almost dropped his phone in surprise. "Excuse me?"

Nikki rolled her eyes. "Oh, come on. Don't tell me you haven't seen the way they look at each other. Or how close they stand next to each other. Or how much time they spend together. There's obvious sexual tension. They're, like, ape horny for each other."

His brows shot up and despite his lingering confusion, he was amused by her choice of wording. "Ape horny?"

"Don't make fun of the way I talk." She replied making a face at him. "Now, what're we gonna do about this?"

Seth was beginning to think this chick was seriously crazy. "Why do _we_ have to do something about it?"

"Because Emma's not going to make the first move. And I get the feeling Dean isn't going to either. He seems like the type to over complicate his feelings."

Well, she assumed correctly about Dean. The Ohio native and his feelings were a complex puzzle.

"You seem absolutely certain that they do have feelings for each other." Seth stated, eyeing her with interest. The twin did seem very certain of her self.

"Are you seriously telling me you haven't seen it? You're with both of them more than me." Nikki asked unbelievingly.

Seth looked away from her. Of course he's seen it. He's seen more than Nikki, in fact. He's seen the way they looked at each other when they thought the other wasn't looking. He's seen Emma snuggled at Dean's side on movie nights and how it seemed to relax his best friend. He's seen Emma fall asleep on Dean's shoulder when they carpooled together. He's seen how Emma always ran to Dean first and how he would immediately opens his arms to her. Dean never acted that way with women. He was the one-night stand guy and threw his feelings out the door.

He couldn't deny that it looked like his friend has feelings for Emma, though.

"No, I've seen it." Seth admitted to her quietly.

"You'd have to be blind not to see it." Nikki declared, leaning over the table and picking out a piece of lettuce from his sandwich and popping it into her mouth.

Seth raised an eyebrow at her. _What a weird woman._ "Mind if I ask you something?"

"Well, you just did but you're welcome to ask me something else."

He blinked once. "Right. Why is it so important to you that they get together?" He asked suspiciously. These were his friends, after all, and he needed to know why someone was so interested in their personal life.

Nikki pursed her lips giving him a long stare. It made Seth a little uneasy. He had no idea what went on in this woman's head. "I just think that Emma is a really sweet person. She's become my friend so quickly and easily. I care about her and I want her to be happy. I have no idea why it's Dean, but he seems to make her really happy. Do you see how her face lights up when he enters a room or when you just mention his name?" She asked and all Seth could do was nod, because it was true. "I think it's important to get them together for their own happiness. Don't you want your friends to be happy, Seth?"

Was she aiming for his heartstrings? _Damn, this woman is good!_

She was right, however. Dean and Emma had some sort of attraction for each other, and it was unlikely either one of them were going to make the first move. Dean was too stubborn and Emma was too shy. Did that give them the right to butt in their lives, though?

Also, Seth was hesitant to agree to this. Dean did not have a good track record with women. He would never physically harm a woman, but he really was the love them and leave them kind of guy. He's never seen the guy in a stable romantic relationship. In fact, he's never seen him in one! He's seen Dean with plenty of chicks, but they were meaningless affairs. Emma deserved so much more than a one-night stand with a guy that she actually cared about. Seth knew that if feelings were involved with Dean, he'd bolt the hell out of there. Emma would get hurt, and Seth would be royally pissed. Not to mention Roman would probably superman punch Dean into the dirt. The Australian has become much like a little sister to them, and they were very protective of her.

Seth looked at Nikki pensively. He had a lot of mixed feelings about this offer, but there was something in her eyes. Something telling him that it was important that they do this.

Happiness was a rare thing when you were on the road constantly. He's had some relationships crash and burn because of it. If his friends had a chance to have the best of both worlds, wouldn't it be kind of him to help them towards that contentment?

Seth was sure he'd somehow regret this decision. "Alright, let's do it."

* * *

"So, what's your favorite color?"

Emma was lying on her side in her hotel room bed, cellphone to her ear and ignoring the heat of it against her skin. She was of course talking to Dean, because only _they _would be having little to no conversation so late at night when their rooms were only separated by a floor. They had spent a few hours together earlier on in the room he shared with his teammates, and they should be sleeping now, but one funny text from Dean led to them calling each other at one in the morning.

Dean chuckled lowly. "That's such a cheesy question, Emma."

"What are you talking about? It's a perfectly normal question." She said in faux offense.

"That's the type of question a teenager asks their crush when they're too scared shitless to ask a more intelligent question." Dean claimed, leaning back in the unfilled bathtub. He had snuck in the bathroom to call Emma so he wouldn't disturb Seth or Roman. Luckily, neither of them had to use the toilet yet.

"Are you calling me stupid?" Emma questioned.

"No, but I do think maybe you're too tired to come up with a better question. Either that or you totally have a crush on me." He teased.

Emma blushed and was so glad that Dean couldn't see her right now. "You wish, Ambrose. What's so wrong with wanting to know your favorite color, anyway?"

"Because I don't have a favorite color."

"Why's that?" She was curious to know.

"Because only kids and chicks have favorite colors." He retorted simply. "What would it matter what my favorite color would be, anyhow?"

Emma laughed softly, shaking her head at her own foolishness. Why did she even think Dean would have a favorite color? He was far too complex for those kinds of things. "I guess it doesn't matter." She mused. "I just feel like we've already talked about everything. Maybe it's a sign that we should stop talking to each other." She joked.

"Yeah, maybe we should. Meet up again in a few months and we'll have plenty to talk about." He humored back, though he wasn't at all supportive of the idea. It sent a strange twinge in the pit of his stomach at the thought of not being around Emma for any amount of time. He's become so accustomed to seeing her everyday.

"Sounds like a plan." She replied with no amount of sincerity as she flipped on her back and stared up at the ceiling, a small smile on her face.

There was a long moment of silence and all that they heard was each other's breathing. Emma appreciated these moments. Sure, it certainly boosted up her cellphone bill, but she enjoyed just listening to any sound Dean made. It was strange how even the minor things he did had such an affect on her. Just the simple sound of his breathing sent her stomach flipping and flopping.

Despite what everyone may think, Emma wasn't ignorant. She understood her feelings for Dean were growing rapidly. She knew the more time she spent with him; the more she was going to fall head over heels for the man. But Dean had this pull to him—like gravity, and she was pulled into his orbit and there was no possible escape. Emma figured she would suffer in the end. It wasn't difficult to determine that Dean ran away from feelings, and she didn't want to complicate his life with hers.

She was content just being his friend no matter how hard she fell.

"You still there or did you fall asleep?" Dean interrupted the silence that had actually been suffocating him. He liked hearing Emma's voice.

"I'm still here." She replied before a loud yawn escaped her. She looked over to the blaring red numbers of the alarm clock on the nightstand. It read 3:32 AM. "But I do think it's time for us both to go to bed now. It's pretty late."

"Hmm. You're probably right." He agreed blandly. He felt like he could talk to Emma all night. He felt like he could talk to her about everything and nothing all at once.

It was surprising how hard it was for him to press the end button on his cellphone after they said their 'goodbyes' and 'goodnights' before losing connection with Emma. It was surprising and scary as hell for him.

It shouldn't be hard for him to hang up a phone. It shouldn't be so effective when he stays on the line for an extra few seconds to hear if she actually hung up or not. It just shouldn't be this way.

He wasn't like this with Roman or Seth, and they were his best friends—his brothers! He didn't get this way with any of his friends and it was hard for him to put Emma in a category above friendship. So, why did she have such a hold on him?

He didn't want to think about it. Dean didn't want to delve deep into his black heart. He didn't want to try and figure out his… dare he say feelings?

Dean tapped his phone against his cheek frustrated. No woman has ever been able to make him have these… stirrings? He didn't even know how to describe this whole thing! And it irritated him, but he was still unwilling to dig deep to figure out these feelings.

In that sense, Dean Ambrose was a coward, though if you ever said that to his face, you may end up with a broken nose. It's not that he was necessarily afraid of feelings. He was just afraid of falling. He was afraid of falling and getting hurt, or worse—hurting Emma. In his mind, it was inevitable. He was called the 'lunatic fringe' for a reason. He would end up doing something royally stupid and hurt her. He would do anything to keep that woman safe even if it meant to be unselfish for once and bury whatever feelings he may have for her.

Dean was startled out of his musings when Seth walked into the bathroom. His sleepy eyes widened when he noticed Dean laying in the bathtub.

"What the hell are you doing?" Seth questioned only mildly shocked. Dean has done stranger things.

Dean stared thoughtfully before shrugging his shoulders lazily. "Nuthin'."

The two-toned superstar blinked once. It was times like this when he wondered how he attracted such weird people in his life. "Alright, well go do nothing out of the bathroom. I've gotta piss."

Seth watched his friend leave the bathroom and just then noticed the cellphone in his hand. It was too late to wonder what exactly his friend was doing sitting in a bathtub at near four in the morning, but he got the feeling it had something to do with Emma.

It seemed that most things Dean did these days involved Emma. And oddly enough, Seth couldn't wait to tell Nikki about this one.

* * *

**Second chapter is up! And just before the London Monday Night Raw... which I know I'm gonna be an emotional mess over. -insert snot and tears- Haha! Anyway, with this chapter I've tried to explore Emma and Dean's feelings for each other individually. To try and show more insight on what the two are thinking. Hopefully, I expressed that well XD**

**Reviews are my life source!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I own absolutely nothing!**

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Chapter Three – _Sweat and Sass._

Emma groaned deeply as a loud banging on her hotel room door rudely woke her from her sleep. She shoved a pillow over her head, hoping whomever it was would get the hint and leave her alone. She just wanted to sleep. Couldn't she have just one day to sleep in?

The knocking seemed to have stopped, and she felt relief as sleep began to consume her again.

She nearly jumped out of the bed screaming when suddenly there was a loud banging on the door.

"Emma freaking Dashwood! Open this damn door!" Nikki Bella yelled from the other side. "I know you're in there over sleeping!" She continued yelling and banging.

Not wanting the thunderous twin to piss off any of her hotel neighbors, Emma groaned again and forced herself to roll out of bed. She drowsily stomped to the door and opened it, squinting her eyes from the brightness of the hall. She vaguely made out the shapes of Nikki and Brie Bella.

"Damn, you look like a freaking zombie." Nikki pointed out as she stepped into the room not bothering to wait for an invitation.

"Nicole, be nice. You did just rudely wake the poor girl." Brie admonished her sister, resting her hand on Emma's shoulder to guide her back into the room.

Emma just wanted to nose dive back into bed and cocoon herself within the covers. With the twins here now, that wouldn't be happening.

"Not that I don't appreciate the visits," the blonde began, rubbing the sleep from her eyes, "but what are you doing here so early?"

The twins looked at each other skeptically then at Emma with some concern.

"Emma… it's twelve in the afternoon." Brie pointed out.

"And we always go to the gym at one." Nikki added, going through Emma's suitcase to get her work out clothes.

Emma's eyes were wide. Had she really slept in that late? It was her day off, sure—but she was always awake and active by at least 10:30. What made today so different?

_Oh, right. _She thought remembering her very late night phone call with Dean last night. Until after 3:30 AM, actually.

"What were you even doing last night that made you sleep in? You never sleep in." Brie asked a bit concerned. She hoped her friend wasn't out partying or anything. And not invite them. They were a unit. They stuck together and took care of each other out there.

"Looks like she was up all night talking to a certain lunatic." Nikki suddenly accused.

Both women looked over to see Nikki scrolling through Emma's cellphone.

"Nikki!" Emma screeched, snatching her phone back.

"Nicole, are you serious? That's an invasion of privacy." Brie scolded her twin. If they weren't twins, Brie would officially declare that one of them were adopted.

"What? She's our honorary triplet. I'm allowed to look through her phone if I'm worried about her." Nikki vindicated.

"He's not a lunatic." Emma suddenly declared causing the twins to stop bickering and turn their attention to her. "And we were just talking about some career stuff." It wasn't a total lie. Earlier on in the conversation they had talked about their careers, then they moved on to different subjects until she dropped the stupid 'what's your favorite color' question.

"You talked about career stuff for four hours?" Nikki inquired doubtfully.

Emma blushed in embarrassment but nodded. "Yes." She replied simply before walking over and grabbing the clothes Nikki had laid out. "I'm going to get ready and then we can leave." With that, the blonde scurried into the bathroom.

Nikki gave her sister a knowing look. Brie rolled her eyes.

"This doesn't prove a thing, Nikki." She stated not wanting to get involved in her sister's weird thinking. "By the way, do you look through my phone whenever you're worried about me?"

"Of course I do. Speaking of, you and Daniel have some weird sexting convos."

"Nicole!"

* * *

Seth paused in his workout routine when he heard his phone indicate that he just received a text. He grabbed his bottle of water, taking a long swig from it as he read the message. It was from Nikki.

_[ did u know Dean and Emma spent 4 hrs talking on the phone last night!? btw we'll b there in 10 make sure ur boy gets his sweat on ]_

He couldn't help the smile that tugged at his lips. Nikki truly was a weirdo. A pretty funny one, but a weirdo nonetheless. But what did that say about him since he was helping her with this plot to get their friends together?

He quickly typed a message back: _[ i figured something was up when i found him sitting in the bathtub when i had to piss at 3 am ]_

_[ wow what a creep ]_

Seth chuckled softly and typed back shaking his head.

_[ this coming from the woman planning on setting him up with her friend ]_

"Who you texting over there?" Roman asked as he lifted some weights.

Seth glanced up at his friend. He saw Dean in the background doing some chin ups. He had decided he couldn't let Roman know of his and Nikki's plans—well, they were more Nikki's plans and he was just following. He was more in this for the end game; he wanted his friends to be happy and it'd be nice if they were happy together. But he doubted Roman would be very supportive of the idea. He'd tell him to not butt in and leave them be. Plus, he was sure the Samoan would lean more towards the belief that Dean would only hurt Emma, and he knew the man just would not allow that to go lightly.

This thing was just going to be between him and Nikki Bella. As bizarre as that sounded.

"No one." Seth replied, putting his phone away and preparing to get back to his work out.

"You were just giggling like a little girl." Roman declared, earning a glare from Seth. "Don't tell me you finally got yourself a girlfriend, Seth." He teased.

Seth shook his head. "We're not in high school, Ro. When I have a girlfriend, I'll let you know."

"Relax, I was only teasing." Roman put his hands up in defense.

"So, it's okay for you to tease but when I goad you about Renee, you have a break down like a teenage girl?" Seth countered with a knowing look.

Roman's expression fell into a serious one. "There's nothing going on between Renee and me."

"Oh please, Roman. You hit on her constantly and you look at her like you want to throw her to the floor, rip her clothes off and take her right there in front of everyone. You're very apparent." Seth replied in a matter a fact tone.

Roman glared harshly. "Fuck off." He grumbled, and tried dropping the conversation to go back to his work out.

It was astounding how stubborn his friends were when it came down to their feelings. He had no idea how they survived before they met him. They were absolutely hopeless.

"What's up with you two?" Dean asked walking him up to his stable mates. He eyed Seth knowingly. "Did you mention Renee again?"

Roman stood from his squatting position, eyes narrowed at the two laughing men. "You two need to mind your own damn business." He huffed, putting his earphones on and walking away to the other side of the gym. He always walked away from them when Renee Young became the subject topic. When it came down to the blonde journalist, Roman's stomach flipped and flopped in ways that he's never felt before, and he didn't need his friends making any idiotic comments. He'd figure out the whole Renee thing on his own.

"He's such a damn baby." Dean muttered, moving over to the weights.

"Yeah." Seth agreed, glancing over to the entrance. He perked up when he saw the Bella twins and Emma enter the gym. "Oh look, there's Emma."

Dean's head snapped up so fast Seth was surprised that he didn't get whiplash.

Emma trailed behind the Bella Twins, laughing at something one of them had said. Dean just stared, and tried to ignore that odd feeling he often got when she laughed. It wasn't the cutest laugh in the world, it fact it was anything but demure. It was a real laugh. It was a wide open mouthed laugh that made her eyes squeeze shut and her nose scrunch up. It did things to Dean. He liked it. Definitely more that he should have.

"Hey, ladies!" Seth yelled out causing Dean to jump in surprise.

"What're you doing?" Dean asked looking at his friend like he lost his mind.

Seth's brows furrowed together. "Greeting people that we know. I know it's hard thing to wrap your mind around, but that's the polite thing to do."

The regular man would be offended, but Dean merely shrugged. He didn't hate the Bella twins or anything—he actually thought they were incredibly hot. But he and Nikki haven't exactly seen eye to eye since the whole incident at the Diva's locker room. He pretty much tolerated her because she and Emma became best friends or something.

Emma skipped over to the two men with a wide grin on her face. "Hey, guys!" She greeted happily. "I didn't know you were going to be here." Her eyes lingered on Dean when she spoke.

"We didn't know you'd be here either." Dean responded, his smile fading somewhat as the twins walked up behind Emma.

"Fancy seeing you guys here." Nikki remarked, glancing at Seth quickly before smiling at Emma who was simply beaming. It was a nice surprise for her to see the guys here.

"Yeah! It's such a coincidence." Emma agreed. "Where's Roman?" She inquired just then noticing the missing Samoan.

"He's over there… brooding." Dean answered, nodding to the other side of the gym.

"We mentioned his crush on Renee and he usually gets like that after we do." Seth answered, amused by the whole thing. He really didn't understand his friends—if he liked someone and desired them so much, he was going to do everything in his power to win that person over. He wasn't going to sit there twiddling his thumbs and think over all the pros and cons of his feelings. They were _his_ feelings and he couldn't control them.

"Wow. Roman's crushing on Renee?" Brie asked amazed.

"That explains all the major flirting he lays on her." Nikki stated thoughtfully. "Why doesn't he ask her out?"

"He prefers to keep things professional in his work environment." Dean said with a shrug.

"Well, that's dumb."

"Nicole!" Brie's lost count with the amount of times she's admonished her sister today—and it was only the beginning of the afternoon!

"What? I just don't get it. If you like someone and want to be with them, then you should. I don't understand being such a little bitch about it." Nikki reasoned unforgivingly.

While Brie gave her sister a disapproving look, Seth burst out laughing. It was funny how they both seemed to have the same thought process on that subject. Maybe it did make more sense that they were teaming together to hook up their friends. Who would have thought he and Nikki Bella would have anything in common. Maybe that's what's so hilarious to him.

Brie just shook her head. She didn't even know why she came here. "I'm going to do some box jumps. Over there."

Without another word, Brie walked away. Nikki inwardly laughed. It was so easy to irritate her sister and get out of the way when need be. Now it was time to move on to operation: get Dean and Emma alone together in an environment where they'll get sweaty and bothered.

"Seth," Nikki said suddenly, eyes darting away from her retreating sister and to the two toned haired man, "I've been having some trouble with my deadlift. I know you're like some Crossfit junkie. Do you think you can help me out with that?"

Though he was a little pressed about being called a 'junkie', Seth gave the diva a smile. They had planned this out beforehand. "Yeah, I could help you with that. The equipment for that is over there." He responded guiding her over to said area.

Dean watched them go with an odd expression on his face. "Never thought I'd see Seth and Nikki do anything together. I hope his ears are prepared for that."

"Oh, be nice." Emma scolded him, slapping his arm playfully. "Nikki's not bad at all. She's a really great friend."

"Never said she wasn't." Dean amended with a shrug. "She's just annoying."

Emma shook her head. She didn't really understand the dislike those two had for each other. It was more dislike on Dean's part, though. Nikki was more indifferent towards him. Regardless, she didn't understand why they couldn't get along.

"She's not annoying. Stop being so mean." She told him in a stern tone, but there was some amusement in her eyes. They had play arguments all the time."

Dean playfully rolled his eyes. "You're not my mother; I don't have to listen to you."

"You're such a child." She complained at his antics. Sometimes she honestly felt like she was dealing with a child. But one look at his bare sweaty chest and she's reminded of how much of a man he is. But damn, she wished he had some manners!

"I'm a man." Dean countered noticing her eyes linger on his naked chest and his ego boosted tenfold. "And don't you forget it, Blondie."

Emma rolled her eyes this time. She turned around to inspect the weights, deciding which ones she was going to start out with. She bent down to grab some of the weights on the lower shelf.

Dean's eyes zeroed in on her backside. He hadn't realized how short her shorts actually were. His eyes traveled up the tan expanse of her shapely legs and he swallowed deeply. He supposed he should've looked away—Emma's his friend and this was beyond rude. But Dean was Dean and Emma was insanely attractive to him.

He couldn't look away.

* * *

"Do you see him right now?" Nikki questioned Seth. "It looks like he just wants to take a bite out of her ass right here in front of everyone."

Seth bit his lip to stop himself from laughing out loud. He never knew Nikki was so hilariously inappropriate. "So, were you always this much of a perv?"

Nikki turned to him, jaw dropping. "_I'm_ the perv? Your friend over there is totally ogling a woman in public for everyone to see!"

"Yeah, and _you're_ the one trying to set them up." He countered.

"_You're_ the one helping me." She retorted sassily.

"_You_ coerced me!" He exclaimed in his defense.

"All I did was play at your heartstrings a little. It seems it doesn't take too much to 'coerce' you, Rollins." Nikki smirked before going back to what she was doing—working out while watching every single move Dean and Emma made.

Seth stood there frozen. What just happened? Did Nikki Bella just out sass him? Not that he was much for sassing, but she just did so effortlessly and with a smile on her face. He had no idea how to feel about that, but he decided he'd get her back later.

"Um," he said from behind her, "so what's the rest of our plan for them? We're not going to lock them in a closet, are we?"

Nikki shot him a look that indicated she thought his question was stupid. "Ew, no. We're not in high school or drama class. No, we have to be subtle about it for right now. Getting them working out alone together for now is good. Then we'll move on to the deeper stuff."

"It's really starting to amaze me what plans you make in that creepy little mind of yours." He smiled at her. It was weird, but he enjoyed their little banters.

"I guess your amazement is what has you helping out with my creepy brain children then, huh?" And she never disappointed.

"Yeah, I guess so. That and you're a pretty good trickster." Seth chuckled.

"Well, I just know how to get what I want."

* * *

**Sooo, this was sorta a filler chapter. Heh. Also, it may be another two weeks before I update again. Mainly because I'm having some trouble figuring out the next chapter and I don't want to give you anything half-assed. But thank you all so much for the amazing feedback so far! It's been greatly appreciated.**

**Please, review! Feedback is what keeps me going, honestly.**

**P.S. Yes, I did use Emma's real last name for this story (her real name is Tenille Dashwood), because... well, just because.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I own absolutely nothing!**

* * *

Chapter Four – _Praise the Awkward Complications_.

Ever since coming up from NXT, Emma loved the excitement of the crowd. She had a good following back in developmental, but nothing compared to the live and enormous crowds of Raw or Smackdown. Nothing compared to the crowd cheering you on as you got the upper hand over your adversary.

It was pure elation, and that was exactly what Emma felt after defeating Alicia Fox in a rather grueling match. She skipped away from the woman having a temper tantrum in the ring over her loss. Alicia's anger only fueled on as the crowd did Emma's dance to her music.

It always swelled Emma's heart to see the crowd do her dance. She was glad to inspire them to have some fun, because that's just how Emma was. She was just a fun loving person… who could also kick your butt.

She walked through the curtain to enter the backstage, out of breath and grinning widely. She had been hoping her Shield brethren or her Bella twins would be around, but she figured the guys had a match to prepare for and Nikki was spending as much time as she could with John. Apparently, the couple didn't have a lot of time to themselves anymore.

The Aussie was about to head off to find either the Bella's or the Shield when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned and her smile faltered slightly at the sight of Santino Marella.

The two of them haven't teamed together or even really spoken to each other since Kane had teamed her with the Shield. She supposed afterwards they could've teamed together again, but ever since she started spending more time with Dean, Roman, and Seth; Santino seemed to avoid her. Emma sort of understood; her friends were quite intimidating and they preferred it that way. However, it was saddening to lose a friend over it.

"Santino…" She trailed off softly, immediately feeling awkward. Things always became pretty awkward between them.

"Emma," Santino greeted in that joyful tone of his, "You had a very good match tonight. Um… I… I'm very proud of you."

"Oh… thank you." She responded, glancing around the area not knowing what else to say. They had been good friends once, but everything changed when the whole spectacle with the Shield happened. She was sure Santino was afraid of them. She knew most people were.

Once upon a time, she was one of those people. Back in their NXT days, when they just began wreaking their havoc and 'serving justice'. They had been so frightening to her back then before she actually knew them.

"I saw you've learned some new things… _they've_ been teaching you?" Santino asked a bit hesitantly, as if one of them would emerge from the shadows and destroy him for even mentioning them.

Obviously, Emma knew whom he meant. "Yeah. They have some interesting things to teach. They're surprisingly very good instructors."

"I'm sure that they are." Santino scoffed, finding the whole idea absurd. It still boggled him that the Shield had even accepted Emma into their little circle. It boggled him even more that Emma joined up with them willingly and even happily.

Emma frowned. She could understand that he may be upset she was spending more time with her new friends, but her world did not revolve around Santino Marella. She wasn't an idiot. She figured out a long time ago that Santino liked her more than a friend. She had expressed the desire only to be friends and he had mostly respected that. There had been some questionable moments.

"They really are." Emma confirmed a little more sternly. People may have doubts about her friends, but she wasn't about to stand by and let _anyone_ insult them even if it was in a subtle way. "Is there anything else you needed to tell me, Santino?"

Santino blinked rapidly. He wasn't expecting Emma to give him the cold shoulder. They had a great partnership once. And yes, he had hoped for something more in the long run, but then Kane and the Shield ruined everything. He didn't get that Emma would _never_ be interested in him in that way. He was a hopeful man.

"Ahem… no. I just wanted to congratulate you." He finally replied.

Emma plastered on a smile. "Thank you again. I'll see you around." She told him kindly before walking away from him.

She headed straight for the Shield's locker room. Despite the fact they told her countless times that she could just walk in, Emma still knocked. She would be mortified if she walked in on any of them if they were indecent!

Roman was the one who opened the door, expression intense as if ready for an attack. His eyes softened at the sight of her. "Emma. How many times do we have to tell you? Just walk in."

"But what if you're naked?" She asked, a twinge of horror in her tone.

The Samoan rolled his eyes. "We are never fully naked in here. You've seen us all shirtless before so stop being a baby."

Emma fake pouted and walked into the room when he stepped out of the way. She glanced around seeing both Seth and Dean's stuff lying around, but not the men themselves. She looked to Roman questioningly.

"Where are the other two?"

"They went to get something to eat. They should be back soon." He answered. "By the way, got to watch a little bit of your match. I was really impressed, Emma."

She grinned at the compliment. Compliments from any member of the Shield meant a little more to her than coming from anyone else. They didn't give out praise often or easily. Plus, Roman's felt more genuine than Santino's and it wasn't laced with awkwardness. It was just an honest compliment.

"Well, I really have you lot to thank for that. I've been learning so much from you guys." Emma shifted on her feet as she spoke, looking to Roman with gratefulness. Because she was so incredibly grateful that three of the best superstars on the roster today were helping her with her skill.

"We just want you to be the best you can be. And you're doing great, Em. You don't need much of our help." Roman continued to praise her.

Emma couldn't keep the wide smile off her face even if she tried. She was never one to fish for compliments, but it felt lovely to receive such compliments from her friend Roman. The muscle of the Shield was certainly frightening at first sight, but he was truly a good and caring soul. She felt for him like she did for her brothers. Roman felt like an overprotective yet loving big brother to her, and she was thankful to have such a figure like him in this company.

In a very small way, she found herself appreciative of Kane's past spite. Because if it weren't for that, she probably wouldn't have the relationship she does now with these three incredible men.

_Thank goodness for an angry demon._ Emma thought amused as took a seat on the bench while Roman went into the bathroom. It wasn't much longer before Dean and Seth entered the room.

"Emma!" Seth greeted stepping into the room.

Dean didn't say anything, but he noticeably brightened at the sight of the bubbly blonde. He always did when he saw her. He thought it was a little pathetic of him. He didn't want to be one of _those_ guys, yet here he was trying to push back that giddy feeling.

Emma grinned at the two men. "Hey, guys. Did you enjoy your food?"

"It was as good as food from catering can be." Seth shrugged, bending over to grab his cellphone from his bag.

Slowly, Dean took a seat next to Emma on the bench. They were shoulder to shoulder and their hips were practically melded together. A little too close for comfort, maybe, but Emma didn't mind. Oh, she didn't mind at all. She tried to hold back the blush that was beginning to blossom on her cheeks.

"Um… so I watched your match," he began in that gravel tone of his, "You did really good. Fox is a tough competitor and you did really well against her."

Emma bowed her head and her hair fell over reddening cheeks. Her hands gripped the bench a little tighter and she bit down on her bottom lip lightly. Getting a compliment from Dean was so much more different than receiving praise from either Santino or Roman. Coming from Dean… it was more important to her. Because the man did not shell out compliments. Like, ever. Yet, here he was telling her she did well in a match against an impressive opponent.

Plus, there were those pesky feelings of hers that effected her normal judgment.

"Thank you." She finally acknowledged, glancing back at him with a bashful smile.

Dean's lips quirked and he did his best to shove all those weird feelings in his stomach away. "Don't mention it, Blondie."

A silence filled the room then and Seth turned away from the pair, rolling his eyes. It was borderline grade school how these two acted around each other sometimes. He pulled out his phone and even texted such to Nikki. What would these two do without them? Well, if their plan didn't work, then they'd be single.

While Seth and Nikki texted back and forth, Dean finally spoke up again.

"So, you coming out with us tonight?"

Emma raised an eyebrow. "Where are you all going?"

"We're going out for some drinks and stuff at some local bar. Apparently, it's pretty famous around here." He replied with a shrug. "Thought Sethie over there would've invited you."

Seth lifted his head when he heard the ridiculous nickname and narrowed his eyes at them. "Don't call me that." He demanded. "And I didn't invite her because this is literally the first time I've seen her since we made those plans."

There was also the fact that Seth wasn't too keen on the idea of taking Emma with them. Usually, when they went out to these things, Dean left with some random and they didn't see him until the next day. He didn't want Emma seeing _that_. That could ruin all of the plans, and more importantly it would probably devastate the Aussie. The last thing Seth wanted to see was Emma upset, especially over Dean.

Maybe with Emma around though, Dean wouldn't be such a dog. Maybe this could actually work in his and Nikki's favor. Maybe. Despite their closeness, Seth could hardly predict all of Dean's actions.

"Whad'ya say, Blondie? Wanna have a night of fun with the Shield?" Dean asked wiggling his eyebrows causing Emma to giggle.

"Ya, sure. Why not?" Emma answered with a shrug. She usually only goes out with the Bella's or Paige. It would be interesting to see how the guys spent their nights out.

Roman stepped out of the bathroom then and Emma tilted her head at the man. "You were in there for awhile. You okay?"

Before the Samoan could answer, Dean piped in. "He was probably practicing in the mirror whatever dumb pet name he's gonna lay on Renee next."

The room filled with Dean, Seth, and Emma's laughter and Roman glared darkly at his friends.

"I hate each and every one of you."

* * *

The bar resembled one of those nightclubs that Nikki usually dragged her to. If anything, Emma only thought the atmosphere was a little darker here. But there was music blaring and people basically dry humping each other.

It seemed the guys weren't really expecting this type of place either, because they looked around questioningly. However, they didn't seem too bothered by it. In fact, they looked excited.

"Looks like we're having a wild night after all, boys." Seth said enthusiastically over the music, before looking over to Emma and frowning slightly. He almost forgot she was with them. "And, uh, lady."

Emma smiled at him merrily. She was quickly figuring out that they've never really brought a woman along with them to these things. They were being cautious with certain things they said and were constantly correcting themselves in front of her. She found it quite funny, actually.

"Guys, don't let me ruin anything for you. Just go about how you normally do. We're all here to have fun." She assured them. The last thing she wanted was for their night to turn awkward because of her.

"Sorry, doll." Roman apologized as they headed towards the bar area, his hand on her arm as he gently guided her. "We ain't used to having a woman around. It's gonna take us some to get used to."

"Don't worry about it. I just don't want to ruin any of your fun." She told them earnestly. She wanted to tell them, though, that she wasn't some kid. She's partied before and knew how to have a good time.

"You're not gonna ruin a thing." Seth threw his arm around her shoulders. "In fact, we're gonna show _you_ a fun time. Aren't we, guys?" He asked, looking right at Dean. _Don't fuck this up, Ambrose._

"As long as she doesn't do her weird dance, we'll be good." Dean teased, winking playfully at her.

Seth smiled to himself, relieved. That was a sign that Dean was flirting.

Emma feigned offence, but before she could say anything, Roman interrupted. "Dean, you have no room to make fun of anyone's dance moves after what Seth and I have seen you do on the dance floor."

Emma burst out laughing while Seth chuckled and ordered them a round of beers. Dean rolled his eyes. Of course they'd go against him for Emma's sake. _Does brotherhood mean nothing?_ They've all really become so protective of her, though. She quickly wormed her way into all of their hearts.

"Hey, I'm always drunk when I do that shit. She's always sober when she does it." He argued before narrowing his eyes thoughtfully at the blonde. "At least, I _think_ she is."

"Excuse me! I am _always_ sober. I just know how to have fun without alcohol in my system." She haughtily replied.

"Okay, guys, enough of that childish crap." Seth stopped anymore playful arguing. It was cute and all, but he was ready to start drinking. "Let's get this party started!"

* * *

The first round of beers was quickly downed and soon enough they were on their fourth round. The guys were a little surprised with how well Emma was handling her alcohol. She was just… very giggly.

Seth was even more pleased to find Emma and Dean getting all flirty and close. Dean even had his arm around the blonde Aussie. He was sure Nikki would be happy about this. He wondered if he should text her about this. He was pretty sure she had no idea they were all out tonight, otherwise she'd be texting him nonstop. She'd definitely want to know what was going on between their two subjects—okay, that sounded too weird to him.

He was about to pull out his cellphone when he remembered Emma telling them earlier on in the car ride here that Nikki and John were having a 'date night' tonight. Texting her about this now probably wouldn't be the best course of action. He supposed he could take over as main matchmaker for the night. Everything was going well enough anyway.

"Alright, I'm gonna go piss." Dean announced, much to Seth's distaste, but luckily, Emma just laughed. "Don't start shots without me!" He demanded before pushing through the small crowd that was blocking his way towards the bathroom.

_God forbid he could go around them._ Seth thought shaking his head before turning his attention to Emma. He watched as she fiddled with her beer bottle. She was smiling fondly and it caused Seth to smile as well. He's seen a lot of women go after Dean—simply for a good time and sex. It was a little pathetic, really. Not one of them ever smiled that way because of Dean.

Emma wasn't looking for a 'good time' with his friend. No, Emma Dashwood genuinely liked Dean Ambrose. And that's why Seth really wanted them to end up together. Dean deserved a woman who would smile fondly at just the mere thought of him. He deserved a woman who would love him with her whole heart and make him happy. And Seth truly believed that woman was Emma.

"You having a good time, Em?" He asked after downing the rest of his beer.

She nodded vigorously. "Oh yeah! Definitely not as wild as the places the Bella's take me, but it's still a fun time."

"Not as wild, huh?" Seth planted on a pout. "We're gonna have to change that when Dean comes back."

Emma held a hand to her mouth as she giggled. "Hmm. I'm not sure if you could match Nikki's intensity."

Seth touched his chest, mocking an offended expression. "I can be as big a party animal as Nikki Bella any day."

"I have my doubts, Sethie."

"Nooo. Don't you go start calling me 'Sethie' now! I don't accept this." The two toned man whined.

Roman's rich laugh surrounded them as the big man came back to their table with another beer. He was grinning down at Seth. "It's just a nickname, Seth. No need to get all bent out of shape over it."

"Hey! _You _don't like it when people call you 'Romie'." Seth argued causing his friend to roll his eyes.

"True. But I'm a man and I don't cry about it."

Seth said nothing else and just pouted, earning another cheerful laugh from the blonde Aussie.

"Ugh. Now I keep thinking of the bathroom." Emma complained as her bladder screamed at her. "I'll be right back." She stood up and patted Seth on the head before rushing back towards the restrooms.

Emma was glad there wasn't a line by the bathroom like there usually was at the nightclubs Nikki brought her to, because she had to pee like a racehorse! Beer certainly has that effect on her.

She was so happy that she came out tonight with the guys. She was having so much fun! They weren't doing anything crazy like she and the ladies did when they went out, but it was nice to be spending more time with Dean. It was very teenage of her and she did feel a little bit like a silly schoolgirl, but she really was happy to get closer to Dean.

It was an impossible dream to actually be with him in the way that she wanted, but these were the moments Emma cherished. Just being around him. Hearing his laugh in that low throaty way of his. Being surrounded by his musky aroma that she had no way of describing besides _Dean_; he just had his own distinct smell. When he had put his arm around her tonight, she felt butterflies burst from the bit of her stomach and she was shocked with how happy she felt.

She didn't want this night to end.

Emma was leaving the bathroom with a beaming smile when this whole night suddenly crumbled around her.

There Dean was with an arm around the waist of a leggy redhead. Emma's never seen such a short tight dress on a woman before, and that's saying something considering Nikki Bella is one of her best friends. It actually looked like that red dress was painted on her skin! She gulped and felt her skin chill when Dean leaned in to whisper something in the woman's ear, eliciting a loud giggle from her.

The Aussie ran away from the sight.

"Stupid. You're so stupid." Emma muttered angrily to herself as she made a beeline towards the exit. How could she think this night would go differently? She had heard the rumors about Dean. She just thought… well, she didn't know what she was thinking!

"Emma!" She swiftly turned to find Seth following after her, concern in his dark eyes when he noticed her crushed expression. "Where are you going? Are you okay?"

She tried giving him her best smile, but she knew she failed miserably. "I'm just feeling a little under the weather, so I'm gonna head back to the hotel."

Seth frowned at that. Their night was only just getting started and she wanted to leave already? What the hell happened? Because he wasn't buying that being sick excuse. "Em, what's going on?"

She worried her bottom lip, glancing around the crowded bar with sad eyes. It was amazing how not even five minutes ago she was so happy to be here, and now she wanted nothing more than to high tail it out of there. She just wanted to go back to the hotel and lock herself in her room. It was childish, of course, but when has she ever really been mature?

"Nothing. I just… I just want to leave." She claimed in a soft tone and Seth could see it in her posture that this was suddenly the last place she wanted to be.

Which he found strange because they were having such a good time. They were drinking and she was laughing.

"Do you want me to come with you?" He asked, unsure if he was comfortable with the idea of her leaving this place without one of them.

"No." Emma replied quickly. A little too quick in Seth's opinion. "Just… stay. I don't want to ruin your fun. Please, stay. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Emma…"

"Seth, I'll be fine. Just go back to the guys. I'm gonna catch a cab." She gave him the most earnest smile she could muster. She just wanted to be alone.

Somehow, Seth could see that. So, he just nodded in reply, to which she smiled thankfully before exiting the bar. Seth stood there for a long moment just staring at the space where Emma once stood. _What the hell happened to this night?_

Grudgingly, the two-toned man made his way back to their table where Roman just downed another beer. It was amazing what that man could store in himself.

"What happened to Emma?" The Samoan asked, a little concerned. They had both seen Emma making her way to the exit before Seth ran after her.

"Um, she left." Seth replied, sitting down next to the muscle. "Said she wasn't feeling good."

"Huh. Guess she was a light weight, after all."

"Yeah." Seth shrugged. He was sure there was more to it than that, though. She looked like someone had just run over her puppy. "Where the hell is Dean?" He asked suddenly realizing the Ohioan still wasn't back from the bathroom. "How long does it take the man to piss?"

"Oh, he just left with his fling of the night." Roman replied nonchalantly looking down into his empty beer bottle.

Seth felt his blood run cold. "Wait… what?"

Roman rose an eyebrow when he noticed the almost terrified look on his friends face. "Yeah, he came over with some redhead chick and said he was out for the night, which usually means he's off to some sleazy motel for a quick lay."

_Shit!_ All of Seth's worst fears about this whole situation just became reality as he put two and two together. Emma saw Dean with that woman. She saw it and it upset her—it crushed her and she was running away from it.

Nikki was going to kill him.

* * *

**So, how's everyone doing since last week? Are we all good? Still crying at all? Because I still do sometimes. Anywaaayyy, on that subject, this story is going to go forward with Seth NOT betraying his brothers and ruining everything! Because I never really followed any of the canon storylines, anyway.**

**Also, sorry it took me forever to update. Had a case of writers block and then _you know what_ happened. Hopefully, I'll have the next chapter up some time next week. p.s., i didn't spell check so everything's probably screwed up. i'll fix later.**

**EDIT: I fixed the major spelling errors that I could find.**

_**Reviews are my life source!**_


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I own absolutely nothing!**

* * *

Chapter Five – _Everything's Gonna Be Alright._

One would say that it was a beautiful morning in the most typical kind of way. The sun was shining, birds were chirping gleefully, and there was the calming sound of rustling leaves with the light breeze. It was the perfect morning that would usually be described in one of those cheesy romance novels.

But there was a storm brewing in Nikki Bella on this fine morning.

It started last night when her date night with John hadn't gone so well. It's not to say they argued or anything, and it was just that—they barely spoke a word to each other. It was mostly silence as they ate their expensive meals. It was sad and downright aggravating. Is this what their relationship had become? Two strangers sitting together in a restaurant.

Surprisingly, that wasn't what put her over the edge. No, what put her over was this morning when she came to get Emma for their morning workout and found the blonde with red puffy eyes and pillows with tear stains on them. She had demanded to know what was wrong, and Emma hadn't been too willing at first. After much prodding, the Aussie finally relented. Sort of.

The only she gave was something about going to a bar with Dean, Seth, and Roman and that it hadn't gone as well as she had hoped.

Nikki wondered why she hadn't known about this outing. But she was about to find out exactly what the hell happened. While Emma was in the shower (because she didn't want to work out today, so they were just going to have a girls day instead), Nikki furiously dialed Seth's number. _That two-toned bitch better explain all of this!_

* * *

Seth woke up to the sound of his cellphone blaring and he groaned as it caused the pounding in his head to ache ten times more. He knew he should have stopped after the fourth shot of Sierra Silver Tequila.

He fumbled to grab his phone, which seemed to have been ringing forever. Luckily, he was alone in the room today since Roman went to hand out with his cousins and Dean was probably still in some gross motel. He'd probably stumbling into the room in about another hour or so.

Without checking the caller ID, Seth answered his phone, groaning into the receiver, "Hello?"

"Do you mind telling me what the _fuck_ happened last night?"

Seth blinked rapidly as his mind tried to figure out who was on the other line. It was an angry voice. An angry _pretty_ voice.

"Nikki?" He asked groggily.

"No, it's your Aunt Tilly." She responded sarcastically from the other line. "Now, tell me what happened last night."

Seth wiped a hand over his face before resting an arm over his head. "Stop yelling." He grumbled, the pounding in his making him wish he was in a coma.

"I'm not yelling, idiot." He could practically hear Nikki roll her eyes. "Now start talking, Rollins. I need to know why I found Emma this morning with blood shot eyes and tear stains al over her pillow."

He silently winced. He despised the thought of Emma crying all night over Dean. He was even more upset over the fact that _he _stayed out drinking while she went back to the hotel and cried her eyes out. Emma said that she was fine, but clearly she hadn't been. He knew that; he saw the crushed look on her face! He should have gone back to the hotel with her and comforted her somehow.

"She didn't tell you what happened?"

"Obviously, she didn't tell me if I'm calling you right now and asking you what happened." Nikki replied, running very thin on her patience.

But Seth wasn't having it this time. It felt like someone was boxing with brain and he wasn't going to take Nikki's attitude anymore. "Listen, Nikki, I have the biggest fucking hangover right now. I don't need the damn sarcasm."

There's a moment of silence on the other line before he hears her sigh before speaking again in a calmer tone, "All she told me was that you guys went to some bar and that it just didn't go as well as she had hoped. She didn't want to give me any specifics."

Seth knew that what he was about to tell Nikki wasn't going to go over well. All he could do was hope that the Bella Twin wouldn't try to go out and find Dean and murder him. "Dean left the bar with some chick." He told her quickly, pinching the bridge of his nose as he waited for her anger.

She didn't disappoint. "He _**what**_!?"

He moved the phone away from his ear at her banshee screech. He was sure that if she was physically here, Nikki Bella would be hitting him profusely. He once again wondered what he'd gotten himself in to with this whole mess of an idea to get Dean and Emma together. Sure, he wanted his friends to be happy, but was it really worth having to worry if Nikki Bella was going to hurt him every day?

"What the hell was he thinking? How could he be so freaking stupid?" Nikki continue to rant.

And for some reason, Seth felt the need to defend his friend. "That's just what Dean does. He's always like that when we go out." Probably not the best argument, and he was blaming the hangover for his poor debating skills.

"Then why the hell would you invite Emma out with you guys?" Nikki seethed.

"_I_ didn't invite her. Dean invited her."

Seth closed his eyes and mentally scolded himself when he realized he just threw his friend under the bus. Maybe this at least meant that Nikki wouldn't kill _him_.

"Dean invited her?" She asked astonished. "Dean invited Emma and then left with another woman?"

Seth covered a hand over his face. This was bad. "Yes."

"What the hell is wrong with him?"

"Look, that really just is how Dean is. It's why I've been iffy about this whole thing since the beginning."

"You've been 'iffy' about it since the beginning?" Nikki asked, very unpleased with this situation. How could everything go so wrong and they haven't even really begun with their plans? "Wow, Seth. It would have been great if you expressed your concerns in the beginning!"

Seth winced as her continued yelling intensified the throbbing in his head. "I'm sorry, okay? You just seemed really eager to get them together and you had convinced me that it was going to work out. I mean, I would love for them to be happy together. I didn't think the shit would hit the fan this soon."

"But you were sure at some point the shit was going to hit the fan and you didn't tell me?"

Seth hit his head with his palm. He made a mental note to never answer the phone when he was hung over. He tended to make a fool of himself.

"I don't… seriously, it was bound to happen, and it was only a matter of time. This usually happens with Dean. It's not that he does it on purpose, but messing up in these kinds of things is just in his nature." Seth admitted with a heavy heart. He wasn't trying to put Dean down in any way, but this was just how he was. He's never seen Dean like a woman as much as he likes Emma, and of course that was going to scare the crap out of the guy. And of course, Dean's manwhoring ways would interfere.

He heard Nikki sigh again and he wished that he could say something to make her feel better, but nothing came to his foggy mind.

"The shit hasn't entirely hit the fan." She declared determinedly.

Seth was confused. "What do you mean?"

"It's too early for everything to go down the drain now. This can be fixed."

"How?"

"Well, _first_, you're going to talk to Dean."

Seth felt his stomach churn. "Ugh. Dean's not the best on talking about his feelings."

"Clearly." Nikki scoffed. "I'm not asking you to talk about feelings. I just want you to mention Emma being upset. That'll get to him and make him rethink his actions around her. Maybe he'll even apologize to her."

"Don't hold your breath." Seth muttered.

It was interesting though. If he was of a sober mind, Seth would have come up with that plan on his own. It looked like he and Nikki Bella had more in common than he thought.

"But I can get him to feel guilty about upsetting Emma."

* * *

Seth had just stepped out of the bathroom when Dean walked into the hotel room in the same clothes he wore last night. It grossed Seth out a little bit, but it was a sight he's grown accustomed to. He just hoped Dean had a good time last night, because he was never going to pull that shit in front of Emma again if he could help it.

"We need to talk." Seth demanded, making a beeline for his friend who was about to go into the bathroom himself. He needed to shower big time.

Dean groaned in annoyance. "Can it wait?"

Seth shook his head. "No, it can't wait. You left with some random last night, man."

The blonde man rose an eyebrow. "What's your point?"

Seth sighed. Of course Dean wouldn't see the point. "You left with some chick while _Emma_ was with us. Not your brightest idea."

Dean's brows furrowed together in confusion. "What the hell are you talking about? What does it matter if she was there or not?"

"She saw you leave with that chic. She left the bar and went back to the hotel really upset."

Dean felt his heart plummet down into his stomach. He upset Emma? Maybe he should be a little concerned with why something like that would upset her, but he was too hung up on the fact that _he_ actually upset her. He could just imagine a frown marring her usually bright features and it made him feel suddenly sick. He stopped being concerned about why Emma had such an effect on him a while ago. All he knew was that she did and maybe if he ignored it enough, it would go away.

"Shit!" He hissed, roughly combing a hand through his messy hair. Why the hell did she have to see _that_? Better yet, why did he have to leave for some meaningless romp? Because if he was horny enough—which most of the time, he was—his surroundings never really mattered.

Seth watched Dean carefully. Nikki was right; this did get to Dean. Emma got to the man so much that just the thought of her distressed set Dean in a mini frenzy. It was just like the whole ordeal with McIntyre all those months ago. It affected Dean more than it had for Seth or Roman. Something was there between Dean and Emma that both parties were refusing to admit. Seth was sure that if it continued this way, they would lose each other in the end.

He supposed it was a good thing that he and Nikki were butting in.

"Dean, you have to go talk to her. Apologize or something." Seth told his friend logically.

Dean froze. Apologize? Since when has he apologized to anyone about anything? Since never, that's when! He's never apologized for his lifestyle a day in his life and he wasn't about to start now. If he was to overcome this hold that Emma had on him, he had to be unrelenting. _I can't give in to this need to fucking please her every damn time! _But still, the thought of Emma upset because of him had his stomach twisting in knots.

"I'm not gonna apologize." He stated adamantly.

Seth fought the urge to roll his eyes. Dean was so damn stubborn, it was idiotic. "Can you not be a brat for just a day and do the right thing?"

The two-tone man was beyond frustrated at this point. Dean just needed to do this one thing. Seth was sure Emma would forgive Dean regardless if he apologized or not. She saw the good in him no matter what. But he knew Nikki wouldn't be pleased if Dean didn't, and honestly, Seth wouldn't be pleased either. Sure, this was just how Dean Ambrose was, but it was his idea to invite Emma in the first place. He shouldn't have left with some random for a quick shake in the sheets.

"I shouldn't have to apologize for something that's normal to me." Dean argued.

"Well, it's not normal to Emma!" Seth countered back. "Why the hell did you even invite her if you were going to do that, Dean?"

Dean blinked once. Why did he invite her? Because he wanted her to have a good time. _Clearly, she didn't have that great of a time. You don't even have to date her to screw everything up! _He thought bitterly. This was why he preferred to avoid attachments to women. They complicated things for him. But somehow, Emma Dashwood wormed her way into his heart and messed everything up.

"I… I don't know." He replied, feeling frustration begin to itch at his skin. "I wasn't _planning_ on leaving with someone, but—goddammit, you know how it is, Seth." He groaned. He didn't want to be having this conversation right now. Or ever for that matter.

Emma shouldn't have this hold on him. She just shouldn't! It was bizarre. That ridiculous blonde with her weird dance and pretty accent shouldn't… shouldn't turn him into _this_! This fool of a man stumbling over himself and questioning his own damn actions. Dean Ambrose was a confident man, but Emma somehow made him question everything about himself.

"Look, man, I know it's going to be hard for you, but you just can't go that stuff while Emma is around. You can at least not invite her to come out with us anymore. You know how you get and she shouldn't have to see it." Seth told him with no malice, but Dean still felt the sting of a slap to the face.

He was the scum out of the three men in the Shield. Dean had always known that, but having Seth practically acknowledge it was punching his gut repeatedly. He wondered if Emma felt that way about him now, too. The thought disturbed him. Sure, it'd probably be best for her to think so lowly of him in the end. Maybe then she'd leave him alone and he'd be free of whatever spell she put on him. But he just couldn't stand it. It didn't matter if anyone else thought he was lesser than dirt, but it mattered if Emma did.

"I'm gonna shower." Dean grumbled, pushing passed Seth and into the bathroom, slamming the door behind him.

Seth shook his head, sighing deeply. That man was impossible!

* * *

The day out with Nikki had been enjoyable for Emma. They did some shopping—she got a couple of new shirts and a pair of nice shoes, much to the insistence of Nikki. And she even bought some gourmet chocolate, because who could honestly resist that? But still, those material things couldn't keep her mind off of Dean and last nights events for very long.

The Aussie was a little ashamed with how she reacted to the whole situation. Sure, her feelings for the man have grown rapidly, but at the end of the day, Dean wasn't her boyfriend. He could do whatever he wanted. But seeing him with that woman tore at her heart viciously and unfairly. It really shouldn't, and she was very aware of the fact that Dean Ambrose was not hers to get upset over. Yet, here she was not coping very well over the whole ordeal.

Nikki had done her best to coax a smile out of the usually bubbly blonde throughout the day. But it was no use. A frown was stuck on her face, and she had tried being happy. Emma really did try, but she just couldn't go on through the day when her emotions were such a ridiculous mess. Luckily, their day out was almost over and they could soon travel to the next state. Currently, Emma and Nikki were eating some lunch at some local organic deli before they needed to head out to the airport. Emma found that she wasn't very hungry so she settled for a Triple-Berry Blend smoothie, and played around on her phone/texted Paige while Nikki ate whatever sandwich she ordered.

Nikki watched her frowning blonde friend with concern. She had done her best to try and cheer Emma up throughout their time together, but to no avail. This whole thing with Dean had a much bigger effect on Emma than the Bella twin thought it would.

She had known spot on that Emma liked Dean. A lot. She had no idea, however, that it was this deep in feelings for her friend. She had no idea Dean's actions could effect Emma this strongly. It made Nikki almost think twice about trying to set Emma and Dean up. Because would Emma ultimately end up getting hurt by Dean? If Dean would finally admit his feelings for Emma, would he change his ways for her? Nikki certainly hoped so, because the man may not know it, but he was on very thin ice with her.

Dean couldn't mess up like this again. Sure, he had no idea what she and Seth were doing, but if he did something to hurt Emma again—whether he does it knowingly or not—he was going to get very up close and personal with Nikki's fist.

She felt her cellphone vibrate on her lap and looked down to see a text from Seth saying that he and Dean were in the parking lot of the deli. Nikki looked back up at Emma who still looked as if her world just fell apart. She hoped this would work.

"I'm going to the bathroom real quick." She told the blonde.

All Emma did was nod in acknowledgement. Nikki sighed before getting up and heading towards the bathrooms.

* * *

When Dean walked into the organic deli Seth forced him to go to, he immediately hated it. He had nothing against eating healthy or whatever, but this place was just screaming overdramatized hippie theme. Who were they trying to impress? Rich white hippie people, that was who. And god, why was everything so damn bright?

What the hell was he even supposed to order in a place like this? A flower salad or some shit?

"This place sucks." Dean told Seth, unhappily. "Why couldn't we just go eat at the burger joint down the street?"

Seth rolled his eyes. Dean never really did like eating at these types of places, and he would've chosen a different location, but this was where Nikki told him to meet them. "Dean, stop acting like a kid. It'll be good for you to eat something other than meat stuffed between bread."

His friend hardly appreciated that comment. "I don't just eat burgers all day, Rollins. I just don't feel like eating some grass that isn't going to fill me up at all."

"There's more here than salads, Dean. There are meats, too."

Dean was about to make some witty comment, when he suddenly froze. All annoyed thoughts about hippies and such came to a screeching halt when he saw Emma sitting at one of the booths, holding a half empty smoothie between her hands and a frown spoiled her face. He felt something tighten in his chest—that just didn't look right on her at all. She was supposed to be smiling and happy.

His body went rigid when she looked up and their eyes connected. She looked like a deer caught in headlights, and he was sure that he looked the same. Quickly, Emma looked away from him and down at her hands.

The blonde man frowned when she did so. That just… that just wasn't right.

"Dean?" Seth asked, noticing how tense his friend was and glancing over to see that it was in fact Emma who was the cause of it. "You okay, man?"

Dean said nothing to Seth. He wasn't okay. He wasn't okay with _this_. Swiftly, he walked over to where Emma was sitting and plopped down in the seat across from her. Emma looked up, surprised.

"Dean, what're you—"

"I'm sorry." The words came tumbling out of his mouth before he could stop and think.

Emma blinked once. Was she hearing that correctly? "What?"

Dean sighed deeply. She was really going to make him say it again? "I said that I'm sorry, okay?"

She was silent for a moment, and that one moment frustrated him. She needed to say something. Silence bothered him. "What're you sorry for?" She asked, and Dean only became more irritated.

"Don't play dumb. I know what I did last night bothered you." He told her firmly. He wasn't going to beat around the bush over this. He wanted to apologize and mend things as quickly as possible, despite his earlier refusal to do so. Seeing Emma look away from him as if she was frightened to be seen by him just didn't bode well for him. He and Emma were close, he could admit that. She's one of the few women in the world that he actually has a good bond with, and he didn't want to lose that. He refused to lose that.

Emma worried her bottom lip and looked down at her hands again. It was a little embarrassing to have Dean approach her about this. He shouldn't have to approach her about it. She should just get over it. "Dean… you don't have to apologize."

He rose an eyebrow, clearly confused by her statement. "I don't?"

"No, you don't. I just… I don't really know what came over me last night, but you shouldn't have to apologize to me over something… like that." She told him trying to be sincere, but Dean could see passed that façade.

No matter what she said, no matter what excuse she gave—he upset her last night. He did. No one else. Dean Ambrose upset Emma Dashwood, and that made him feel sick.

"Look… I'm not good at this shit, okay? But I do realize now that I shouldn't have done what I did last night while you were there. I… I invited you with us to have a good time and… and I ruined it by being myself."

"Dean, stop." Emma said leaning over the table and taking his hands that were resting on the table. They both felt a jolt of something when their hands touched, but she kept talking. "Just stop right there. Please, don't bring yourself down over something so silly. Just… how about we forget last night ever happened, yeah?" She suggested giving him a small smile.

But he was still frowning. It wasn't supposed to be this easy. "Emma," he spoke her name softly, because to him her name deserved the softness that she was, not that gruffness of him, "accept my apology."

Emma's small smile faltered back into a frown and he hated himself for a moment. "Dean…"

"Please. Just accept it, because I'm not gonna be able to go on with this fucking day if you keep tip toeing around this." Dean told her seriously. He would love to pretend that last night happened, but it did happen and he wanted Emma to accept that he was actually sorry for it.

The Aussie didn't really know what to say. She didn't want Dean to feel bad about this. She thought it was silly that she was even upset to begin with, but she could see in Dean's eyes that he needed her to accept his apology or it was going to bother him until she finally did.

She squeezed his hands and gave him a reassuring smile. "I accept your apology."

Emma was sure she would accept any apology he would ever give her.

Relief flooded Dean and he gave her one of those unique smiles of his in return. It shouldn't please him so much, but he was glad that they were okay now.

"Hey, guys."

Dean nearly jumped out of his skin when Nikki stood before them, head tilted to the side and brow raised as if she were confused. He quickly let go of Emma's hands and shoved his own into his pockets. Nikki took in that gesture with interest.

"What's going on over here? What're you doing here?" Nikki posed the last question to Dean.

"Uh, Seth wanted to eat some grass." Dean replied with a shrug.

Nikki made a face at him, but decided not to comment on that. "Ookay. I'm going to get a smoothie for the road. Do you want one for the road?" She asked Emma.

The blonde woman shook her head not taking her eyes off of Dean. "No, I'm fine."

Nikki watched her friend for a few seconds, before nodding. "Alright. I'll be right back."

With that the Bella Twin walked away from the two and towards the front counter. Seth was there leaning against it, arms crossed and smiling softly.

"I didn't even have to push him to go apologize to her. Well, I had earlier on in the hotel which he refused like the overgrown child he is." Seth said as she stood next to him, arms also crossing over her chest. "The moment he saw Emma and how upset she was he immediately went over there and just straight up apologized."

Nikki chuckled lightly. "Little Dean growing up."

Seth snorted. "Doubtful, but something's going on with him. A blonde Australian something." He said glancing over at the two briefly. They were speaking to each other. He looked back over to Nikki. "So what now?"

She pursed her glossed lips. "Now we move on with our plans… with hopefully no more screw ups."

* * *

**Ahhh, I finally updated! I'm sorry it took me forever. Writers block is a real bitch. I can't promise when I'll update again, unfortunately. Also, apologies for any spelling/grammatical errors. It's like 5AM and I refuse to look right now. Will fix later.**

**Reviews are my life source!**


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